William Hill’s The Inside Track podcast series in the build-up to the Cheltenham Festival

Ahead of this year’s Cheltenham Festival, we have launched a brand new horse racing podcast called The Inside Track.

The Inside Track is new series in which host Kate Tracey and The Winners Enclosure’s James Mackie are joined by a special guest each week to discuss the big stories surrounding the world of horse racing in the lead up to the Cheltenham Festival.

We’ll be celebrating all that we love about the sport of horse racing so make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to catch the latest episode week– with the audio podcast also available across all major platforms.

Episode one: Sir AP McCoy

Episode one of The Inside Track kicked off with legendary jockey and William Hill ambassador Sir AP McCoy. The 20-time Champion Jockey discussed the racing week that was from Sandown, Aintree and Fairyhouse, our Cheltenham Festival race in focus and a look ahead to the International meeting at Cheltenham.

The panel also looked at some ante-post value for the upcoming weekend of racing and also the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, with a look at some of the performances from the season so far, including Jonbon.

Episode two: Andrew Thornton

This week’s episode features ex Gold Cup-winning jockey Andrew Thornton to discuss the racing from Cheltenham and Cork, our Cheltenham Festival race in focus, and we also looked ahead to the Long Walk Hurdle meeting at Ascot.

The panel also look at some ante-post value for the upcoming weekend of racing and also a discussion with Andrew about the recent uproar from Jump jockeys about the new whip rules.

Episode three: Sam Twiston-Davies

Episode Three featured leading Grade One-winning Jump jockey and William Hill ambassador Sam Twiston-Davies who discussed some of his horses to follow for the season as well as looking ahead to the big races across the busy Christmas period with some ante-post fancies.

The panel also talk with Sam about his memories of the Cheltenham Festival.

Episode four: Nick Luck

William Hill Ambassador and broadcasting royalty Nick Luck was the guest on this week’s The Inside Track episode. Nick discussed the racing during the Christmas Period, our Cheltenham Festival race in focus and looked ahead to the big races across New Year’s Eve/Day.

The panel also chatted with Nick about his special connection to the horse Gentlemansgame and where he thinks he will end up this season.

Episode five: Andy Holding

The fifth episode of The Inside Track saw Kate Tracey and James Mackie be joined by top tipster and William Hill Radio’s Andy Holding.

The panel discussed the racing from New Year’s Eve/Day, our Cheltenham Festival race in focus and a looked ahead to the big races over the weekend.

Kate and James also chatted with Andy about some of the speed figures clocked by horses that ran during the Christmas period and how that relates to some of the betting markets for the 2023 Cheltenham Festival.

Episode six: Leonna Mayor

This week’s episode saw former jockey, racing broadcaster and William Hill Ambassador Leonna Mayor join the panel.

James, Kate and Leonna discussed the racing from Sandown and Naas on Saturday and Sunday, our Cheltenham Festival race in focus and a looked ahead to the big races that weekend.

Leonna discussed some of her colleagues on ITV Racing, including which of the panel is best dressed, worst dressed and the last person she would call if she was on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire…

Episode seven: Ken Pitterson

The seventh episode saw Kate and James joined by horse racing’s leading paddock judge, Ken Pitterson.

The panel discussed the weekend’s racing from Warwick and Punchestown, our Cheltenham Festival race in focus and looked ahead to the following weekend’s big races. The panel also asked Ken about how he got into his role as a paddock judge and some of the best-looking horses he has seen this season.

Episode eight: Kevin Stott

Kate and James were joined by two guests this week, firstly William Hill Ambassador and leading All-Weather Championships jockey Kevin Stott and, secondly, William Hill Radio’s Luke Elder.

This week’s episode saw the panel discuss the racing from Cheltenham and Doncaster, our Cheltenham Festival race in focus and a look ahead to the big races at the weekend. The panel also talked with Kevin about some of the riders in the weighing room, including which jockeys are the best dressed, worst dressed and the last person he would call if he was on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

Episode nine: Glen Johnson

This week, Kate and James were joined by two guests again, firstly by footballing legend and avid horse racing fan Glen Johnson as well as William Hill Radio’s Will Smith.

This week’s episode saw the panel discuss the racing from Cheltenham Trials Day at the weekend, our Cheltenham Festival race in focus and a look ahead to the big races at the weekend from the Dublin Racing Festival.

The panel also talked with Glen about some of his ex-teammates, asking who he would take out on a day out to the races, the best and worst dressed players he has came across during his career and a funny story from his time under Harry Redknapp.

Episode 10: Barry Geraghty & Sir AP McCoy

Making his second appearance on the show record breaking jockey Sir AP McCoy is joined by the newest member of the William Hill Ambassador stable, ex-Gold Cup winning rider Barry Geraghty.

The 10th episode saw the panel discuss the biggest race of the Cheltenham festival with the Gold Cup the festival race in focus, with both of the racing superstars giving their ante-post selection and as well as discussing how the market was affected by the Dublin Racing Festival.

The panel also discussed what life was like riding for the most successful owner in the sport JP McManus and how they both became two of the greatest riders to grace National Hunt Racing.

Episode 11: Mike & Zara Tindall

Episode 11 of The Inside Track saw us take the show on location as we interviewed racing royalty in Mike and Zara Tindall.

2003 Rugby World Cup Winner and 2022 I’m a Celebrity contestant Mike MBE and World Champion and Olympic Eventing silver medallist Zara are joined by William Hill Ambassador Leonna Mayor at their home in the Cotswolds to discuss memories of the Cheltenham Festival, what it’s like to own a horse that places in the Grand National and their thoughts on the recent relaxing of dress-code rules.

They also chat about Zara growing up around horses, the Royal Family’s strong ties to racing and how Mike became involved in the sport.

Episode 12 part 1: Grand National Weights Special

The Grand National Weights Special of the The Inside Track, hosted by Kate Tracey this week sees a special episode where she was joined by three guests including a legend of the sport.

Kate’s first guest was the official BHA handicapper for the 2023 Grand National, Martin Greenwood, who talks us through his process of handicapping the specific entries for the race and explains what the process of handicapping a horse entails.

Kate is then joined by William Hill Ambassador and 20-time Champion Jockey Sir AP McCoy to talk through his greatest memory of the Grand National and who he thinks could go close in the 2023 renewal off the back of the weights hearing.

The show is rounded off by The Winners Enclosure’s analyst, James Mackie, discussing the upcoming Grand National Trial from Haydock and who is the early value for the 2023 Grand National at this ante-post stage.

Episode 12 part 2: Grand National Weights Special

The 2023 Grand National Weights Lunch was attended by some of the leading figures in the sport, who spoke to William Hill’s Kate Tracey and Lee Phelps about their excitement and memories from one of the biggest days in the racing calendar.

We spoke with a host of names from a horse racing perspective including Grand National-winning trainers Willie Mullins, David Pipe, Nigel Twiston-Davies and Peter Scudamore, along with Grand National-winning jockey and William Hill Ambassador Sir AP McCoy.

The Grand National’s appeal stretches wider than racing, with World Champion boxer Natasha Jonas also in attendance, discussing exactly what the Grand National means to Liverpool as a city.

Episode 13: Nigel & Sam Twiston-Davies

Episode 13 of The Inside Track saw the William ambassador trainer and jockey family partnership of Nigel & Sam Twiston-Davies joined by fellow William Hill ambassador and leading racing broadcaster Nick Luck to go through their Cheltenham team ahead of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival.

The pair discussed the yard’s exciting prospects ahead of the Festival including I Like To Move It in the Champion Hurdle, Weveallbeencaught in the Albert Bartlett and Master Chewy in the Ballymore, whilst also looking towards the future with some of them.

Sam Twiston-Davies also weighed in on some of his chances across the four days with Rare Edition flying the flag for Britain in the Supreme and The Real Whacker a big player in the Brown Advisory. Nigel & Sam then finished up by talking through the rest of the yard’s runners throughout the Festival, including a couple of fancies away from their obvious contenders for success at the festival.